This story is not intended to violate any copyrights held by MCA, Universal Studios, or Renaissance Pictures concerning Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. This story is for fun and no money was made from it.
Iolaus made his way down the road to Boeotia, seemingly without a care in the world. In reality, however, the stone he was absentmindedly kicking along and the tune that whistled from his lips were mere distractions to quiet his mind. He and Hercules had been searching for Elissa for weeks, but they hadn’t found so much as a trace of her.
At first, Iolaus had been bursting with excitement, barely able to sit still long enough to make camp and have a meal. Ares’ announcement had filled him with joy and had given him hope that he had never expected to feel again. Elissa was alive. The thought of seeing her again, touching her, being with her filled his heart and spurred him onward. He was ready to sacrifice anything just to see her bright smile and hear her sweet voice whispering his name. The promise of sharing her love and life was enough to bring his soul back from the dead. But, as the days passed and their search yielded nothing, fear began to grip the hunter’s heart with icy fingers. In desperation, he suggested that he and the demigod should split up. The more ground they covered, the faster they would find her. Against his better judgment, Hercules agreed and the partners went their separate ways.
Now, Iolaus was wishing that Hercules was still with him. The doubts were coming fast and furious, and he really could have used his friend’s support. A sick feeling of dread was welling up in him as he started wondering if Ares had lied to him. Sending the partners on a wild goose chase all over Greece looking for a dead woman would be the perfect means to get them out of the way for awhile. But surely not even the god of war could be that cruel. If it turned out that it was all a lie, Iolaus knew he wouldn’t be able to take it. He could not bear losing his beloved a second time. The hunter tried to comfort himself with the realization that this type of setup was not really Ares’ style. It was more like something that Sinis would arrange. A new disturbing thought crept into his mind. What if that had been Sinis masquerading as Ares?
Iolaus drew in several deep breaths and tried to get himself under control. He decided that he couldn’t let his imagination run away with him, and until he discovered differently, he would have to keep searching. After all, it was not far to Boeotia, and maybe he would find Elissa there. If she were still alive, nothing on earth or in Tartarus was going to stop him from finding her.
The hunter noticed a rider approaching him from the direction he was headed and he lifted a friendly arm in greeting. As the horse trotted past him, the pretty blond girl mounted on it’s back returned his wave and smiled as she passed him. Iolaus turned to shoot an admiring glance at the horse. He was generally not much for horses, but this one was magnificent. It was huge and gleaming white, and pranced by with brash attitude. The hunter chuckled and resumed his journey. There was a time where the horse would definitely not have been the one of the pair that he was checking out. But that was another life, one that he didn’t miss, and even though she might have been dead, Iolaus still only had eyes for his beautiful healer.
More riders were approaching, and the hunter narrowed his eyes suspiciously as they passed. It was a gang of four rough looking men. They were riding fast and the lead rider glared menacingly at Iolaus as they galloped by. He turned to watch them head off in the direction taken by the girl who had ridden by only a few moments before. The hunter heaved a weary sigh. He had been hoping to reach Boeotia and ask about Elissa before nightfall, and he really did not want this distraction. But something was not right about these men, and his hero’s heart would not let him walk away. He turned and began to sprint after the riders.
His sprint turned into a dead run as a strangled scream echoed through the air. Iolaus raced down the road and burst onto the scene, taking it all in with a quick glance. The girl was being restrained by one of the men, frightened but seemingly all right. Her horse was another story. The majestic animal was writhing on the ground, it’s snowy coat covered in blood. One of the thugs raised his sword high and delivered another stabbing thrust. The animal screamed out again, then stilled.
“You’ll be next, Princess,” the man growled at the sobbing girl. “If you don’t...”
He never got a chance to finish his threat as Iolaus dropped him with a sharp blow of his sword hilt on the back of his head. Quickly he spun around to take out a second man with a whirling spin kick to the jaw, then met the third man’s sword with his own. The clashing of steel lasted only moments as the hunter rapidly disarmed the thug and sent him into oblivion with a hard left.
“Let her go,” he ordered the last man, who was still holding onto the girl. The brute hesitated for a minute, then released his captive and took off running full speed into the woods. Iolaus was feeling rather pleased with his victory and had begun to resheath his sword when the girl suddenly gasped and pointed behind him. He turned just in time to see one of the thugs on the ground raising a dagger. The hunter tried to twist and deflect the blow, but he felt the blade bite into his flesh. He cried out and dropped to his knees, but he managed to thrust his sword backwards and impale his attacker in the process.
After a few moments, Iolaus staggered to his feet and approached the girl, clutching his right side with his hand.
“Are you ok?” he asked her.
“Fine,” she whispered shakily, staring in horror at the blood dripping through his fingers. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’ll be all right. It’s just a nick,” he reassured her.
“I don’t know much about healing,” she told him, tearing a strip of fabric from her dress. “But I can try to bandage that for you.” Iolaus sat and let her tend to the wound, trying not to let her use of the word “healing” get to him.
“Why were those men after you?” he inquired.
“They work for a warlord named Cepheus,” she explained. “It’s not the first time he’s tried this. He knows he’ll get a king’s ransom for me from my father.”
“Who’s your father?”
“King Schoeneus of Boeotia, of course.” Iolaus suddenly remembered the thugs addressing the girl as “princess”.
“So then, you’re...”
“Nessa, Princess and ace bandager of Boeotia, at your service.” Iolaus groaned inwardly as he recalled his misadventures with Princess Melissa. She had most definitely stained his impression of the royal daughters. But this girl was not acting like a rich, spoiled royal brat, so he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“And for you to come so bravely out of nowhere to rescue a damsel in distress, I would have to say that you must be the great Hercules himself.” She was teasing, but Iolaus had to laugh at the irony.
“I’m Iolaus.”
“Iolaus!” The girl’s eyes lit up. “Well, I wasn’t too far off then, was I?”
“You’ve heard of me?”
“Hasn’t everyone?” Iolaus was not in the mood for getting into that conversation, so he busied himself with checking the Princess’ bandage. It was tight, but not constricting, and he nodded his approval.
“Well, we’d better get you back to Boeotia, Princess. That goon that took off will probably be on his way back with reinforcements. We won’t be safe out here for long.”
“Ok, just give me a second.” The girl went to her fallen stallion and stroked it’s neck softly for a moment before collecting her saddlebag and rejoining the hunter. “I’m ready now,” she told him, brushing the tears away. Iolaus looked sadly at the still form of the horse. What a waste of such a beautiful animal.
“Can I ask you something?” Iolaus said when they began their journey.
“Sure.”
“If this Cepheus had been out to kidnap you before, then why were you out here all alone without any guards?”
“Well,” she began, a little shamefacedly. “Nobody knows that I’m gone, exactly. I kind of snuck out.”
“And just what possessed you to do a stupid thing like that?”
“I don’t know,” she confessed. “My father is so overprotective. He has been since I was born. It got even worse after my mother died a few years ago. I’m all he has, and he is terrified something will happen to me.”
“That sounds like a normal father worrying about his daughter to me.”
“But he’s so controlling. He decides everything for me, and I never get to choose anything for myself. I’m not even allowed to leave the castle, so I sneak out whenever I can.”
“At the risk of your own life?”
“Freedom is worth that risk,” she said confidently. “I may have been born a princess, but I’m my own person. I have my own thoughts and ideas and I can live my own life. I want to be able to go to the market if I want, or to the games, or for a ride on my horse.”
Iolaus could sympathize with the girl, but he also realized that she was very young and reckless, at that teenage phase where one felt invincible and death seemed an impossibility. Conversely, at the moment the hunter was far from the point of discounting death as a possibility, and his wound was acutely reminding him of that fact.
The princess had been watching Iolaus carefully out of the corner of her eye as they walked. He was growing paler and had begun to stumble, and she concluded that the wound was grieving him more than he was letting on. She also realized that he would probably drop dead in his tracks before he ever admitted that he needed a break.
“Iolaus, do you think we could stop for a few minutes? I could really use a rest.” The hunter couldn’t suppress a look of relief at her words. “There’s a small stream on the other side of those trees. We could stop there and get some water.” He agreed and they veered off the deserted road into the woods at it’s side.
The hunter gingerly lowered himself down on a flat rock next to the small, gurgling brook and let the princess unwind his bandages to check the wound. They were soaked in blood, and she realized that the pressure of the wrappings had not been enough to staunch the gash.
“It’s still bleeding,” she informed the hunter. Awkwardly, he tried to twist enough to get a good look at his side. He was sure the dagger had missed any vital organs, but it had left a cut that was long and deep and far from the “nick” that he had tried to play it off as.
“You’re going to have to cauterize it,” he said slowly, shuddering at the thought.
“What? Me?” The girl was equally terrified at the thought of the procedure.
“It’s the only way,” Iolaus said, closing his eyes and wishing with all his heart that Elissa was with him. “It’s too deep to stitch and we don’t have the means out here to take care of it any other way.”
“But I don’t know how,” the princess protested vehemently.
“We’ll get through it together,” he told her, fixing his intense blue eyes onto hers. “Please, princess. It’s the only way.”
“All right,” she said finally. “But please don’t call me ’princess’. It’s too formal. Nessa will do.” At the hunter’s instruction, she gathered tinder and sticks for a fire. The actual lighting she left to him, as she never had cause to ignite a campfire before, and she busied herself with tearing more cloth strips from her dress and soaking them in the water of the stream. Iolaus removed a knife from his belt and held it briefly in his hands, remembering the day so long ago when he and Hercules had forged it. Right before all that trouble with Xena. With a slight chuckle the hunter placed the knife into the heat of the flame, remembering his words to Herc.
“This knife wasn’t meant to draw your blood.”
Well, hopefully it was now meant to stop his own blood that was continually seeping from his side. He had already lost a lot, leaving him pale and shaky, but what else could he have done? There was no way he could have sent Princess Nessa, who was already a target, back to Boeotia all alone to get help. No, he had to forge on and hope that some kind traveler would stop to help them. But unfortunately, the road had remained empty. Iolaus settled down by the fire and tried to make himself comfortable, hearing Hercules’ complaints about his “stubbornness” echo through his mind. Well, this was no time to berate his actions. What happened had happened, and he just had to try and come through it like he always did.
Nessa had been taking her time at the stream, but she finally realized she couldn’t stall any longer. ‘You wanted a taste of real life’ she reminded herself silently. ‘It doesn’t get anymore real than this.’ She was extremely loath to do this task, but she knew that she had to for Iolaus. He had gotten hurt trying to save her, and she would do what she must in order to help him. She returned to the fire where he was lying and cleared her throat gently. He was so still and pale that for a moment her heart jumped and she thought she was too late, but then he opened his cerulean eyes.
“I’m ready to sizzle if you are.” Her sharp look told him that she was not finding this a joking matter, so he grew serious as he gave her instructions for treating the wound. Slowly, she drew the knife from the fire, but as she looked at the bleeding gash, nausea welled up in her and she couldn’t bring herself to touch the red hot knife to his flesh. She thrust the knife back into the flames and choked out an apology.
“Nessa, please believe me that this is the best thing you can do for me now,” he consoled her. “I know this is a horrible thing for you to have to do, but if you don’t do it, I’m going to bleed to death here in front of you.”
“I can’t,” she whispered as tears began coursing down her cheeks. “Iolaus, I do want to help you and I wish I could be brave like you are, but I just can’t do it.” The hunter looked at the sobbing girl and relented.
“It’s ok,” he told her. “Don’t cry. I can do it myself. Hand me the knife.” She did as he asked, watching as he propped himself up slightly and tried to figure out the best angle. He took a deep breath, focused on thoughts of Elissa, and abruptly pressed the knife against his side. The hunter’s wiry body was rigid as the heat burned into him, his jaw clenched tightly against the pain. After a few moments that seemed to last hours, he slumped back to the ground and dropped the knife.
“Heat...it...again,” he gasped, sweat streaming from his brow. Nessa once again placed the knife into the flames, and she knew she could not let him do it again. When it was hot enough, she pulled it out and moved closer to Iolaus. He nodded slightly at her as he realized what she intended to do.
Fighting the bile that was rising into her throat, Nessa pressed the blade against the wound, searing the hunter’s flesh . He could not hold back a cry of pain this time, and the sound ripped at the princess’ heart, but she placed the knife back into the flames. She was forced to repeat the process twice more. Iolaus had mercifully passed out, although not as soon as he had hoped. When the wound was at last closed and she could see no more blood escaping, Nessa threw the knife down and ran down to the bushes by the stream, away from the smell of burning flesh, and became violently sick.
After a time, she forced herself to rise and go back to the campsite. The fire was beginning to die, so she carefully added more wood before checking on Iolaus. His wound was still closed, so she bathed it gently and covered it with a clean bandage. The hunter moaned softly as she worked, and though she tried not to disturb him, he awoke. Nessa lifted his head up and held her water flask to his lips, then she eased him back down into her lap. Reaching into her saddlebag, she pulled out a blanket and covered him.
“It looks good,” she told him, hoping he wouldn’t see through her. She thought it looked terrible, but there was no point in worrying him more.
“Nessa,” he whispered. “Could you do something for me?”
“Anything,” she told him. “After all, I do owe you one.”
“If I don’t make it out of here...”
“Don’t talk like that,” she reprimanded, but he persisted.
“Could you tell Hercules...”
“Yes, tell Hercules what?” Iolaus didn’t know what to say. What was there to tell Hercules that hadn’t already been said?
“Just tell him what happened. Tell him no regrets. And tell him not to blame himself.” The hunter knew that if he didn’t make it through this, Hercules would find a way to pin it on himself. Saying he should have been with his friend, even though Iolaus knew there was no way on earth that anyone could fault the demigod for this, except Hercules himself.
“I’ll tell him,” Nessa promised. Iolaus wanted to give her a message for Hercules to relay to Elissa, if she was indeed alive, and if he ever found her. But it seemed like too much explaining when his mind was becoming cloudy, and again, there was nothing he could say to Elissa that she didn’t already know.
“I think you should try to rest now,” she advised him. Iolaus looked up at her as she stroked his golden hair with soft hands and he flashed her the grin that had women all over Greece swooning.
“I’ll be ok,” he told her. “As a good friend once told me, I’m too ornery to die.”
Iolaus slept for a short while, waking up feverish and in a good deal of pain. He knew that infection could not possibly have set in yet, but he asked Nessa to check the wound anyway.
“It’s seeping,” she reported, straining to examine him in the fading light. “But it’s not bleeding.”
“Good,” he sighed, wincing as she tried to dab at the seared gash. “Just bandage it back up, and for pity’s sake, don’t rip any more off of that dress. Your father will have me killed for viewing the royal treasures, if you know what I mean.” Nessa giggled and carefully wrapped the wound up once more. Iolaus knew that she was hungry and cold and scared, so he was trying to distract her and keep her mind off their predicament. But he was becoming so weak, he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold on. The girl seemed to sense this, and once again eased the hunter’s head into her lap.
“Don’t worry, Iolaus. My father will have realized by now that I’m gone. His men will be out combing these woods even as we speak. They’ll be here any minute now, and then we’ll get you to the palace healer. You’ll be fine, just wait and see.” The princess’ words were more to reassure herself than her patient, as the hunter had slipped away into unconsciousness. Nessa was now becoming truly frightened. It didn’t take a healer to see that Iolaus was in bad shape. He had risked his life to save hers, a life that she had foolishly gambled with, and now she knew what she had to do. She gently moved out from under the injured man, resting his head against her saddlebag. Quickly, she built up the fire and placed a full water skin next to his hand in case he woke up. Nessa covered him with the blanket, tucking it carefully around him, and on impulse, she leaned in to kiss his lips. “I’ll be back,” she whispered to the unconscious man before getting up and fleeing their campsite, desperately wishing she still had her horse with her.
Luckily, the moon was full enough to cast a good amount of light over the ground. The princess followed the small trail they had come in on back out to the main road. Once she reached it, she began to run toward town, kicking off the slippers that were impeding her travel. She hadn’t gone far when she ran into three of her father’s soldiers who were, as she promised Iolaus, out searching for her. Frantically, she babbled out the story of the man who had rescued her and how he had been hurt. Nessa hadn’t wanted to go back to the castle without Iolaus, but she had little choice as one of the men scooped her up on his horse and rode off to Boeotia with her kicking and screaming all the way. The other two soldiers promised that they would go back and find the man the princess spoke of.
When Iolaus woke, he experienced a moment of unease as he tried to determine where he was. He was lying on a soft, clean bed, so he knew he wasn’t in enemy territory for once. Shaking his head vigorously cleared away the cobwebs, and he remembered the recent events. Judging from the grandeur of the room his was in, he guessed that he was in the palace at Boeotia, although he had no memory of the trip there. His side was swathed in clean bandages, and although he was weak and tired, he felt decidedly better and he knew he was going to be fine.
“Hi,” came a soft voice from the doorway. “Can I come in?”
“Of course,” he replied, giving the princess a bright grin. “Just as long as you don’t have any hot knives hidden on you.”
“No,” she said, moving into the room and taking the chair by his bedside. Her heart had begun to beat rapidly when he smiled at her, and now it stopped completely as he fixed his clear blue eyes on her and took her hand.
“Nessa, I never thanked you for helping me. I know how hard it was for you to do what you did, and I just wanted to thank you and tell you how much I admire you for it. You saved my life.”
“I can’t believe you’re thanking me,” she said, blushing a deep shade of red. “You only got hurt because you were trying to help me. YOU saved MY life, Iolaus, and it is I who should be thanking you. Anything you want, you’ve got it. Need a willing slave for the rest of your life?”
“As tempting as that sounds, it won’t be necessary,” Iolaus laughed. Nessa had been joking, but she felt a slight twinge of disappointment. The prospect of being a “slave” to the hunter was somewhat exciting. He was so brave and handsome that her young heart could not help but develop feelings toward him over the last few days as she’d cared for him. She had to tell him how she felt.
“Iolaus, do you believe in love at first sight?”
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation, thinking back to the first time he’d even seen his beautiful healer. He knew from that moment that she was someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
“I knew it!” the princess exclaimed, moving from the chair to sit next to him on the bed. “I knew you felt the same way about me.” The hunter’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what she had meant by her question.
“Nessa,” he said quickly, stopping her as she leaned in to kiss him. “Wait. We don’t even know each other.”
“But you just told me you believed in love at first sight,” she told him, an annoyed tone creeping into her voice.
“I didn’t mean... That’s not what.... This isn’t right,” he protested.
“Is is right,” she affirmed. I felt it out in the woods, when you were hurt and I was caring for you. There’s something between us. I love you, Iolaus.” He was struck speechless for a moment and she took the opportunity to lean in and kiss him seductively. “Now don’t tell me you didn’t feel that,” she purred into his ear. Iolaus sat up gingerly, favoring his wounded side, and took her by the shoulders, a bit disturbed by the adult behavior of the young girl.
“Nessa, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I really do, and I don‘t want to hurt you. But I have to tell you the truth. I love someone else.”
“Elissa?”
“How do you know that?” he demanded. The princess squirmed away from his grasp which had involuntarily tightened at the mention of the healer’s name.
“You were calling out for her while you were delirious,” she said, eyes narrowing. “Her and Hercules.”
“I love her,” he said simply. “I love her and there can be no one else in my life. I’m sorry.”
“If you love her so much, then where is she? And why didn’t you mention her before?”
“It’s complicated,” Iolaus said wearily, sinking back down onto the pillows. “I just didn’t feel like going into the whole explanation.”
“I wouldn’t be complicated,” she hinted, bouncing back onto the bed next to him. “Sounds to me like she’s not worth it. I could make you happy, Iolaus. I know I could.”
“Oh, she is worth it,” the hunter replied. “And I know someday you’re going to make some lucky guy very happy. It’s just not going to be me.” The princess stood up and smoothed the wrinkles from her gown.
“We’ll see,” she said, blowing him a kiss and sailing out the door. Iolaus was disheartened to hear a click as she locked the door behind him.
“Great,” he muttered to himself. “I’m trapped here with a lovesick princess.” A few years ago, that could have been his wildest fantasy, provided the princess was a few years older, but now it was just another hindrance. Even though his body screamed in protest, Iolaus rose from his bed and wobbled over to the door. It was indeed locked. He made his way to the window and saw that he was too far up to jump or climb down. But he was not defeated, just setback a little. The hunter was confident he’d be able to escape sooner or later, but until his opportunity presented itself, he decided he might as well rest in his luxurious surroundings and heal up so he’d be ready when he got his chance.
King Schoeneus visited him later that evening to thank him for saving his beloved daughter and promised him a healthy reward.
“If you really want to reward me, why don’t you have a talk with your daughter?” Iolaus requested.
“What about?”
“She has some kind of crush on me and she locked me up in here, thinking that I’ll fall in love with her. Didn’t you wonder why the door was locked?”
“Nessa told me it was to prevent you from sleepwalking and injuring yourself further.” Iolaus snorted at the king’s words.
“She’s holding me hostage in here.”
“Not a bad deal,” the king observed. “Bed, food, and a beautiful princess waiting on you hand and foot. What more could a captive want?”
“I’m sorry if I don’t see the humor in being locked up against my will.”
“If any of the stories are true, you’ve been in much worse places.” The king rose to leave.
“You’re going to let her keep me here?” Iolaus asked incredulously.
“For a little while. Nessa is a very headstrong child. She’s arranged to marry the prince of Troy next year, and she’s been fighting it tooth and nail. Your intervention has provided a nice distraction and has made her more... agreeable to a lot of things. Anyway, you’re in no shape to travel yet, so what harm is there in letting her have her little fantasy for a few days?”
“This is completely insane,” the hunter exclaimed. The king had kept a light tone up until this moment, and as he turned back to Iolaus his voice became menacing.
“You’d better remember who you’re talking to,” he threatened. “I owe you a debt for saving my daughter so I’ll overlook a lot of things. But I can tell you right now, you’re going to play along with her, you’re going to indulge her, and you’re going to like it, or else you’ll find yourself recuperating in the dungeon, chained to the wall while the rats chew you apart from the legs up. And do not misunderstand me, indulging her does not mean touching her. You lay a finger on my daughter, and you will be killed instantly.”
“I think it’s about time to get out of here,” Iolaus whispered as the door locked behind the king. Two days passed before he was able to accomplish his task, sooner than his wound liked, but not soon enough to suit the hunter. In that time, Nessa had spent hours with him. He was firm with her, but she still clung to the belief that he would grow to love her in time and refused to let him out of the room. She obviously wasn’t expecting him to escape, as there were no guards outside his door, which he managed to open with the help of a small knife that was brought to him with his evening meal. “This is ridiculously easy,” he chuckled to himself, a little insulted that they hadn’t thought enough of his warrior abilities to suitably detain him. Silently, he crept through the castle toward his freedom, suddenly realizing that he had spoken too soon.
Between him and the outside stood a monstrous drawbridge. He’d never be able to lower the mammoth structure without the entire castle knowing. There had to be another way. He began searching the palace for a servant’s entrance but instead found a window that would suffice. It was two stories off the ground, but had a vined lattice structure outside of it that he thought he could climb down. Iolaus made it precariously down half way, then the frail lattice work pulled away from the side of the castle and he went crashing down into the shrubs below.
The hunter lay still for several minutes, grimacing at the pain throbbing in his side and desperately hoping he hadn’t reopened his wound. He was just struggling to sit up when he heard the familiar sunny voice.
“Hey, Sweet cheeks! How’s it hanging?”
“How’s it hanging?” Iolaus glared daggers at the vapid goddess. “Aphrodite, I can’t find Elissa. I was stabbed. Some head case princess wanted me locked up until I agreed to marry her. I just fell fifteen feet out of a window. How do you THINK it’s hanging?”
“Easy, Curly,” she advised, fluffing her golden tresses with a perfectly manicured hand. “I can help you on two of those counts. Princess Nessa is not a head case. She just has a rather, um, zealous case of hero worship. Can’t say I blame her.” Aphrodite chucked her favorite mortal under the chin, much to his chagrin. “But I’ll divert her attention to some other poor sap for now. And as for Elissa, no problemo. She’s in Ubrais.”
“Not that I’m trying to be ungrateful,” Iolaus said evenly, picking himself up off the ground. “But if you knew where she was you could have saved me a whole lot of trouble.” The goddess shrugged nonchalantly.
“Can I help it if I have a life? Uh, Sweet cheeks?” Iolaus had been starting down the road but turned back to Aphrodite. “That’s the long way.” She held out her hand and the hunter came back to her. “Hold on to your cookies,” she squealed, taking his hand. They vanished in a flash of light and arrived at Ubrais in an instant. “What a rush,” Aphrodite exclaimed, beaming at her companion. He did not appear to agree, glaring at her again as he picked himself up from the ground.
Ubrais was a tiny village in the northern area of Greece. Iolaus had passed through it once without giving it any thought. Now, even though it was late, the town was alive. A festival was ongoing, and throes of people were still dancing and singing and partaking of the festivities. Aphrodite directed his attention to the huge bonfire blazing in the town square, and there, sitting alone on a bench, was Elissa.
A huge lump formed in his throat as Iolaus looked at her. He still couldn’t believe she was alive, but she was there, looking more beautiful than ever. She was smiling and clapping along with the music. Her amnesia hadn’t taken away her love of life. As always, she was determined to make the best of the situation.
“I could walk away,” the hunter whispered to himself, but the goddess heard him.
“Did that fall knock something loose in your brain?” she asked.
“She’d be safe,” Iolaus explained. “She doesn’t remember me. She’ll make a new life for herself, and I wouldn’t be there to put her in danger. No more warlords, monsters, or angry gods. No more getting caught in the crossfire. No more being used to get to me. No more wandering the earth, helping strangers. She’d be free to live the life she deserves.”
“Do you really think she wouldn’t be in danger if you weren’t with her?” Aphrodite asked gently. “Sinis knows how much you love her. So does Ares. They wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get to you, if that’s what they wanted. They know you’d still do anything for her. And besides, her mind may not remember you, but her soul does. There’s a longing there. She doesn’t know what’s missing, but she feels the ache all the same. You two were destined to be together, so go and be happy again.”
Iolaus knew she spoke the truth, and he needed no further encouragement. He approached the healer and softly called her name. She turned and smiled at him, and for a second, he thought she remembered. But then she stood and spoke to him.
“Do I know you?” The words almost broke his heart. To have her next to him, so close and yet so far away. Hearing her sweet voice was like music to his ears, even as the words pierced his heart. He wanted to much to take her in his arms, feel her warmth and life against him, but he couldn’t. She saw him as a stranger, and he couldn’t afford to scare her away now.
“You used to know me,” he said in a tight voice.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I don’t seem to be remembering much of anything these days. You called me ‘Elissa‘. Is that my name?” He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. “I’m so happy to run into you,” she gushed, taking him by the arm and pulling him down to the bench with her. “Maybe you can fill in some of the gaps for me. What is your name?” Suddenly, Iolaus remembered Aphrodite. He turned to search for her, and sure enough, she was still there watching.
“Can you do anything to get her memory back?” he begged.
“Sorry. Not my thing. But I think I know someone that can help. Back in a flash.” The goddess vanished and Iolaus turned back to the girl.
“Elissa, listen to me carefully,” he said, taking her hands. “You lost your memory, but I’m going to help you get it back. You’re a healer, from Acheron. You have a brother named Argeon. You had another brother named Cimon. Don’t you remember Cimon?” She tried, but could not remember. “You’re a healer. You help people, along with me and Hercules. You have to remember Hercules.” The name had no meaning for the girl, and the desperation creeping over the face of the man next to her saddened her. He was rattling off people, places, and events, but nothing was coming back to her.
“You have to remember me. You know me better than I know myself,” he told her. “Look into my eyes. You’ll remember. Please, try it.” Elissa looked at him a bit strangely, but she did as he asked. In the gleam of the firelight, she peered into the deep blue pools of his eyes, and saw something so achingly familiar that tears welled up in her own eyes.
“I do know you,” she whispered. “I don’t know how or from where, but I know you.”
“Elissa, there aren’t words that can describe what you mean to me. If you can’t remember, than we’ll go on and make new memories together. I need you in my life, and I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. Even if you never remember anything, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got you back now and I’m never going to let you go again.” His outburst had surprised her, and she pulled back from him a little. Iolaus cursed his impetuousness and began stammering an apology as he tried to assess the damage he’d done. Fortunately, he was interrupted by the timely appearance of Aphrodite.
“This is Clio, muse of history and daughter to Mnemosyne, ,” she announced, gesturing to the slender beauty beside her.
“I don‘t know if I can do this, Aphrodite,” the muse grumbled. “I told you this isn’t really my forte.”
“Oh please. You’re the muse of history. Your mother was Memory. How hard can it be?”
“Fine, but don’t go blaming me if I turn her mind to mush.” The two mortals looked up in horror at these words, but the lovely muse was already sending a bolt towards Elissa. The light hit the girl and was absorbed into her being. “You owe me one,” Clio told the goddess of love before she vanished.
“Elissa, are you all right?” The healer was a bit stunned, but as she looked up into the hunter’s concerned face, a brilliant smile played about her lips.
“I’m fine, my brave warrior,” she murmured, drinking in the sight of him.
“I knew she could do it,” Aphrodite said smugly. Her expected thank you did not come, and the goddess decided that she wasn’t going to get it anytime soon, the way the two mortals were staring at each other, oblivious to the world around them. “You kids have fun,” she said, knowing they barely heard her, but for once not feeling jilted at not being the center of attention. “Later.”
“I missed you so much,” Iolaus whispered, finally feeling her again in his arms. He was dizzy with the intoxication of it, and he wanted that moment to last forever. The light that radiated from the healer had not diminished because of her ordeal, but it shone even more brightly and wrapped around him like a warm shroud. It was then that he understood. The brilliance of purity did not come from Elissa’s innocence of evil and corruption. It came from the power of her heart and the depth of her love that she was able to overcome such horrors and emerge from them all the stronger. As he held her tightly and their two souls rejoined as one, all of the hunter’s doubts, fears, guilt, and pain vanished. All was right with the world, and as long as Elissa was by his side, nothing could ever be wrong again.
“Elissa,” he whispered, eyes hazy with love. “Will you marry me?” Technically, she never said yes, but her gentle lips on his was all the answer he ever needed.
It was exactly the kind of scene that Aphrodite would have enjoyed, if she hadn’t otherwise been occupied fighting for her life. But she had never been good at fighting, despite Iolaus’ lessons, and Sinis had been ready for her. And of course, he didn’t fight fair.
Disclaimer: No majestic, prancing, snowy white horses were harmed during the writing of this story.
Coming Soon: Chapter 11 - The Darker Side of Night
Chapter 11: Darker Side of Night
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